Politics, Editorials & Letters

The Ford Government isn’t just spending thousands of public dollars on gas pump stickers promoting a partisan campaign against carbon pricing – yesterday’s budget bill revealed that Ford plans to fine gas stations $10,000 a day if the businesses fail or refuse to post the stickers. The stickers, which Ford will use public money to produce and distribute, denounce the ...

All of us have heard the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child,” many times. Some attribute the origin to the Igbo and Yoruba tribes in Africa, while others say it was passed down through North American Indigenous teachings. No matter what the origin, few would argue with the statement. Those of us who have children can readily ...

During question period Wednesday, NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong) said the Ford Conservatives must stop undermining the government’s duty to consult with First Nations on the Far North Act, and called for government engagement by holding hearings in Far North communities in order to improve and replace that act.   “Proper engagement on the Far North Act should not be ...

Dear Readers My story starts here roughly 3 years ago I had my colonoscopy done and they found a polyp. It was removed and sent for a biopsy and it came back non-cancerous. Since the doctor found the polyp, I was scheduled for a re-exam 3 years later. This time another polyp was found. As it turns out when this ...

You know those sci-fi movies and television programs in which the story revolves around a portal adjoining two worlds. Often the plot is based on the idea that whatever the main character does in one world has some sort of effect in the other world. Some days, when I plunk myself down in my residence in Toronto, I feel like ...

All but 30 of the 1,594 people who applied to be heard by the government on its health care overhaul scheme were turned away by the Doug Ford government, prompting NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to call attention to their stories, and their objections, in the legislative assembly Tuesday.   “Kenneth Yurchuk is almost 70 years old and battling cancer, having ...

How many times has Canada been chosen as the best place to live or placed at least in the top ten best nations to live in the entire world? There have been many surveys based upon responses to a large variety of criteria. Admittedly I didn’t come up with a final answer in my research, but suffice to say we ...

  During question period on Tuesday, NDP Northern Development critic Michael Mantha said the Ford government must ensure access to wood supply for northern mills and forestry operations, to support the hundreds of jobs that depend on them. Mantha said the future of one mill in Fort Frances is in jeopardy, and another mill in Thessalon is cutting jobs because ...

In light of a shocking new opioid-related death-toll number, Bhutila Karpoche, Ontario NDP critic for Mental Health and Addictions, said it’s simply wrong for the Ford Conservatives to delay the approval of licence applications for overdose prevention sites, and limit their number.   According to new data reported by the Canadian Press, the first half of last year, the opioid ...

Recently I was in the positon of needing to make arrangements for a special retrofit project back home. Knowing such a project would likely take some time to complete and given my work schedule, doing the work myself just wasn’t practical. Besides, I admit that I didn’t really know where to begin, so I needed to hire someone. As I ...

Thank you to the ‘knucklehead(s)” who threw out fish guts or whatever over the hill where we walk our dogs (snow dump). Fine; ashes to ashes and give the coyotes and ravens a chance to survive — but please, not so close to home and worse — take it out of the plastic bag! My curious dog, searching in overdrive ...

As I write this column I find myself concluding another week of constituency clinics covering numerous northern communities in the riding. MPPs are back to the Legislature on Monday. I take pride in being able to say that my face is no stranger to virtually any community in Algoma-Manitoulin. There is no doubt in my mind that constituency clinics play ...

Dear Brenda, Doug Ford has turned his back on rural Ontario. So I would encourage rural Ontario to turn their back on Premier Ford. Randy  Hillier was elected by his constituents as their representative at Queens Park not to be Ford’s puppet. Randy has served his riding with great dignity and loyalty to the people. Due to Ford’s bad judgement on ...

Like many Ontarians, I often find myself trying to balance my career life with that of being a dad. I can honestly say that while being a politician and a father, both jobs come with some real challenges, but I couldn’t be happier and more proud to have the opportunity to fulfill my duties for each of these roles. I ...

I spend a great deal of time on the road which gives me lots of time to think things over. Just recently I was travelling along the TransCanada heading back from Wawa. The view along the shores of Lake Superior are truly breathtaking. The view made me think of how fortunate we are to live in Algoma-Manitoulin where we readily ...